Van bodies

ABSTRACT

A van body with an open side closable by a sliding curtain suspended from the roof of the body. One vertical edge of the curtain is detachably secured to an end of the open side and the other vertical curtain edge is detachably connected with a rotary spool element at the opposite end of the open side onto which curtain is wound for horizontal tensioning. Spool locking means is provided to prevent slackening of the tensioned curtain. The curtain is also tensioned vertically by straps which connect between travelling elements by which the curtain is suspended and anchorages on the body.

Jan. 9, 1973 United States Patent [191 Broadbent 160/290 R X......296/100 Fitch FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 541 VAN BODIES1,938,635 12/1933 [75] Inventor: Edward Gerald Broadbent, Sand- 247928o8/1949 Tum-km 1,307,440 6/1919 bach, England [73] Assignee: ShellagEstates Limited, Douglas,

Isle of Man, Great Britain Oct. 12

[21] Appl.No.: 80,098

853,280 11/1960 Great Britain................ .......296/100 [22] Filed:

Primary ExaminerBenjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-L. PapernerAttorney-Holman and Stern [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct.10, 1969 ABSTRACT Great Britain........,............49,786/69 A van bodywith an open side closable by a sliding curtain suspended from the roofof the body. One vertical edge of the curtain is detachably secured toan end of the open side and the other vertical curtain edge isdetachably connected with a rotary spool element at the opposite end ofthe open side onto which 56 4 50fi 9 il 7 5l7 1 9 90 0c 6 007 0 2 3 M086 B WW 0 m ,B9 Mm 354 903 9. ,1 M m ;0 3 8 2" l R ,4 686 2 .932 .1 "m..0 59 u 3 nmm wmm u ""e "8 L 6 l C km min UIF 11]] 2 8 555 III curtainis wound for horizontal tensioning. Spool locking means is provided toprevent slackening of the [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTStensioned curtain. The curtain is also tensioned vertically by strapswhich connect between travelling ele- 296/100 ments by which the curtainis suspended and anchorages on the body.

3,453,020 7/1969 Santillo 759,628 5/1904 Nicolai..... 584,625 6/1897Cronin......

1,405,485 2/1922 Callery..........

16 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 9 I973 SHEET 2 UP 3 FIG.3

VAN BODIES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to vanbodies and particularly to van bodies having one or more sides closableby sliding curtains.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The term van body is used herein to mean any bodywhich has a bed for supporting cargo to be transported and a roofdisposed above said bed and which is, or is intended, to be mounted onwheels to provide the trailer portion of an articulated road vehicle,the body portion of a non-articulated road vehicle, or even a railwayfreight wagon. The one or more sides referred to as being closable bysliding curtains may be the vertical, lateral or end sides of the bodybut will usually be the two parallel lateral sides thereof.

PRIOR ART It is well known to provide curtain-sided van bodies forfreight-transporting road vehicles but the previously proposedconstructions have been disadvantageous in that adverse wind conditionsor other factors could cause severe billowing of the curtain duringtravel lead ing to impeded rear vision through the side mirrors andpossible tearing of the curtains. Lashing the curtains in position withropes has not led to a complete solution of this problem and is in anycase an inconvenient and time-consuming operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a curtain-sided bodyin which the above disadvantage is obviated or mitigated by theprovision of simple and effective means for vertically and/orhorizontally tensioning the curtains and a further object of theinvention is the provision of an improved guide rail for carrying thecurtains.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the presentinvention, there is provided a van body as hereinbefore defined havingat least one open side thereof closable by a slidable curtain suspendedfrom the roof of the body,

" co-operating means on said curtain and body for detachably securingone vertical edge of the curtain to the body along one vertical end ofsaid side and, disposed at the other vertical end of said side,tensioning means adapted for detachable connection with the opposingvertical edge of the curtain and operable to exert a horizontaltensioning force on said curtain.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda van body as hereinbefore defined having at least one side thereofclosable by a curtain slidably suspended by travelling elements from acurtain rail mounted on the roof of the body, said curtain beingassociated with a plurality of horizontally spaced, vertically extendingtensioning straps, lines or the like, each having an upper end fast withone of said elements and a lower end adapted to be secured to said bodywhereby when said straps, lines or the like are so secured and placedunder tension, the curtain is restrained into the vertical plane.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda guide rail for a slidable closure member comprising a track adapted toaccommodate travelling means to which the closure member can be secured,means to one side of the track securing the track in a desired positionand means to the other side of the track for attaching thereto avalance.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of exampleonly with reference to th accompanying drawings in which: Y

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view from theside and rear of the van body;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the horizontal tensioning device;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the horizontal tensioning device;

FIG. 4 is a part-sectional view illustrating the vertical tensioningmeans, and

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective sectional views of alternative embodimentsof curtain rail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings, a vanbody 1 (FIG. 1) has two parallel longitudinal sides thereof closable bycurtains 2 which travel on curtain rails 3 (FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) attachedto the roof of the body 1. For the sake of simplicity, since thearrangements at the two sides correspond exactly, only one side will nowbe described in detail.

The curtain 2 is preferably made of nylon or terylene reinforced P.V.C.but may be made of any suitable material which is waterproof and hasadequate folding properties. When closed, the curtain 2 is secured byits front and rear vertical edges, each of which is formed with a sleeve4, 5, accommodating a hollow steel tube 6, 7. The rear tube 6 isdetachably mounted on a rear corner post 8 of the body by upper andlower plugs or sleeves 9, l0, engageable in the open ends of the tube 6so as to anchor the rear edge of the curtain 2 in position. The fronttube 7 is accepted in the angle of a vertically disposed L-section spoolelement 11 (FIGS. 2 and 3) at the corresponding side of the front end ofthe van body 1 and detachably held therein by upper and lower plugs orsleeves l2, l3 engaging in the upper and lower ends of the tube 7. Thespool element 11 is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis by meansof a conveniently positioned handle .14 and may be locked againstrotation by a suitable mechanism, e.g.,a simple brake provided by a band15 frictionally engaging a drum l6 and capable of being tightenedthereon by a wing nut 17. Y

Horizontal tensioning of the curtain is effected by rotating the spoolelement 11 when thecurtain 2 is closed until a sufficient tensionalforce has been exerted thereon and then locking the spool elementagainst reverse rotation by means of the brake.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the rail 3 from which the curtain 2 issuspended is made of extruded aluminum alloy and is of generallyrectangular section having upper, lower and side walls (l8, 19, 20)defining a track 21 accommodating travellers 22 (FIG. 4) to which thecurtain 2 is secured at its upper edge. The lower wall 19 of the rail isformed with a longitudinal slot 23 through which attachment tongues 22aof the travellers 22 extend. The inner side wall 20 of the rail 3 isextended in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 to form a vertical flange 200which is bolted to a roof member (not shown) and a horizontal flange 20bprojects at right angles from this side wall 20 slightly below the levelof the upper wall 18 of the rail and is also bolted to said roof memberthus fixing the rail 3 in a desired position. The upper wall 18 of therail 3 is formed with a longitudinal depression 180 on its externalsurface. The depression 18a and the fact that the outer surface of theupper wall 18 is slightly proud of the exposed surface of the horizontalmounting flange 20b tend to inhibit water collected on the roof fromspilling over the side of the roof and onto the curtain. A web 18b whichmay be regarded as an extension of the upper wall 18 of the rail 3,curves downwardly to overlie the outer side wall 20 of the rail 3 anddefine therewith a channel in which is received the upper edge of avalance (not shown) which overlaps the upper edge of the curtain 2 toprevent entry of rain water into the body 1 through the space betweenthe curtain 2 and the rail 3. The valance is firmly secured in positionsimply by deforming said web 181: towards the side wall 20 so as toclamp the valance edge between the web and the wall.

In the embodiment of rail shown in FIG. 6, the web 18b defines with theouter side wall 20 a cylindrical channel which slidably receives abeaded upper edge 24a of a valance 24. The web 20b shown in FIG. 5 isreplaced by an L-section web 18c which extends upwardly from the innerside wall 20 and over the upper wall 18 of the rail 3. The rail 3 issecured, as by bolts or rivets, onto roof members and 26, which togetherdefine an angle in which the web 180 is received. This construction hasthe advantage that the van body is completely shielded against ingressof water between the rail and the roof members or between the rail andthe curtain.

Each of the travellers 22 (FIG. 4) accommodated-by the track 21 is madeof nylon or other durable material having a low friction co-efficientand consists of a hollow cylindrical portion 22b lying with its axistransverse to the length of the track 21 for sliding movement therealongand the attachment portion or tongue 22a referred to above which extendsthrough the slot 23 in the rail 3 and is attached to the curtain 2.

The attachment tongues 22a of the travellers 22 may engage in the upperends of vertical sleeves 27 formed in the curtain 2 at regular intervalsalong its length. Each sleeve 27 accommodates a strong strap 28 ofwebbing secured to the tongue 22a and extending downwardly through thesleeve 27. The strap 28 passes through an upper eye 29 in the outer wallof the sleeve 27 near the lower end of the curtain 2 to engage a buckle30 and then returns to the sleeve 27 through the same eye 29 beforemaking its final exit through a lower eye 31. The lower section of thestrap 28 which is thus exposed incorporates a quick release manualtensioning device 32 of known type and terminates in a coupling element33 which is releasably attached to a hook 34 on the van body 1 below thecurtained side (FIG. 1).

When the manual tensioning device 32 is operated, the strap 28 istightened and exerts a downward pull on the curtain 2 through the buckle30 at the upper sleeve eye 29, the buckle 30 having been previouslyadjusted relative to the strap 28 to ensure that the latter may be fullytensioned without straining the curtain material excessively. The maintensioning load is thus taken by the straps and not by the more fragilecurtain. lf appropriately spaced, the straps also serve the usefulfunction of retaining in the body 1 a much heavier dislodged load thancould be retained by the curtain material along.

What we claim is:

1. A van body comprising a bed for supporting cargo, a roof supportedabove the bed at at least two opposed vertical sides, at least onevertical open side for loading and unloading cargo, a guide rail alongthe roof at the open side, a plurality of travelling elements engagingthe rail and movable therealong, a vertical curtain suspended from thetravelling elements and movable therewith to close the open side, arigid connector at each vertical edge of the curtain, securing means ateach end of the open side to receive and hold the connectors, andtensioning means at an end of the open side coacting with the securingmeans to exert a horizontal tensioning force on the curtain.

2. The van body as claimed in claim 1, in which each connector is ahollow tube accommodated within a sleeve at each vertical edge of thecurtain.

3. The van body as claimed in claim 2, in which each securing means isconstituted by upper and lower plugs for engagement in the open ends ofthe hollow tubes.

4. The van body as claimed in claim 2, including a rotatable spoolelement engageable with one of the tubes to wind up the curtain and thusapply a horizontal tensioning force thereto.

5. The van body as claimed in claim 4 comprising locking meansassociated with the spool element to prevent reverse rotation thereof.

6. The van body as claimed in claim 5, in which the locking meanscomprises a drum fixed to the rotary spool element and an adjustablebrake band frictionally engaging the drum.

7. The van body as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plurality ofhorizontally spaced, vertically extending tensioning straps having upperand lower ends, each having the upper end fast with one of saidelements, means at the lower end of each strap for securement to saidbody and means for applying a tensioning force to each strap to restrainthe curtain into the vertical plane.

8. The van body as claimed in claim 7, wherein-each tensioning strap isaccommodated in a vertical sleeve provided in the curtain.

9. The van body as claimed in claim 7, wherein each strap is providedadjacent its lower end with a quick release manual tensioning device.

10. The van body as claimed in claim 1, wherein, the guide railcomprises a track, meansto one side of the track securing the track in adesired position, and means to the other side of the track forattachment of a valance.

l 1. The van body as claimed in claim 10, wherein the means forattachment of the valance comprises a channel in which a beaded upperedge of the valance is slidably engageable.

12. The van body comprising a bed for supporting cargo, a roof supportedabove the bed at at least two opposed vertical sides, at least onevertical open side for loading and unloading cargo, a guide rail alongthe roof at the open side, a plurality of travelling elements engagingthe rail and movable therealong, a vertical curtain suspended from thetravelling elements and movable therewith to close the open side, aplurality of horizontally spaced, vertically extending tensioning strapshaving upper and lower ends, each having the upper end fast with one ofsaid travelling elements, means at the lower end of each strap forsecurement to said body, and means for applying a tensioning force toeach strap to restrain the curtain into the vertical plane.

13. The van body as claimed in claim 12, wherein the tensioning strapsare each accommodated in a vertical sleeve provided in the curtain.

14. The van body as claimed in claim 12, wherein

1. A van body comprising a bed for supporting cargo, a roof supportedabove the bed at at least two opposed vertical sides, at least onevertical open side for loading and unloading cargo, a guide rail alongthe roof at the open side, a plurality of travelling elements engagingthe rail and movable therealong, a vertical curtain suspended from thetravelling elements and movable therewith to close the open side, arigid connector at each vertical edge of the curtain, securing means ateach end of the open side to receive and hold the connectors, andtensioning means at an end of the open side coacting with the securingmeans to exert a horizontal tensioning force on the curtain.
 2. The vanbody as claimed in claim 1, in which each connector is a hollow tubeaccommodated within a sleeve at each vertical edge of the curtain. 3.The van body as claimed in claim 2, in which each securing means isconstituted by upper and lower plugs for engagement in the open ends ofthe hollow tubes.
 4. The van body as claimed in claim 2, including arotatable spool element engageable with one of the tubes to wind up thecurtain and thus apply a horizontal tensioning force thereto.
 5. The vanbody as claimed in claim 4 comprising locking means associated with thespool element to prevent reverse rotation thereof.
 6. The van body asclaimed in claim 5, in which the locking means comprises a drum fixed tothe rotary spool element and an adjustable brake band frictionallyengaging the drum.
 7. The van body as claimed in claim 1, comprising aplurality of horizontally spaced, vertically extending tensioning strapshaving upper and lower ends, each having the upper end fast with one ofsaid elements, means at the lower end of each strap for securement tosaid body and means for applying a tensioning force to each strap torestrain the curtain into the vertical plane.
 8. The van body as claimedin claim 7, wherein each tensioning strap is accommodated in a verticalsleeve provided in the curtain.
 9. The van body as claimed in claim 7,wherein each strap is provided adjacent its lower end with a quickrelease manual tensioning device.
 10. The van body as claimed in claim1, wherein the guide rail comprises a track, means to one side of thetrack securing the track in a desired position, and means to the otherside of the track for attachment of a valance.
 11. The van body asclaimed in claim 10, wherein the means for attachment of the valancecomprises a channel in which a beaded upper edge of the valance isslidably engageable.
 12. The van body comprising a bed for supportingcargo, a roof supported above the bed at at least two opposed verticalsides, at least one vertical open side for loading and unloading cargo,a guide rail along the roof at the open side, a plurality of travellingelements engaging the rail and movable therealong, a vertical curtainsuspended from the travelling elements and movable therewith to closethe open side, a plurality of horizontally spaced, vertically extendingtensioning straps having upper and lower ends, each having the upper endfast with one of said travelling elements, means at the lower end ofeach strap for securement to said body, and means for applying atensioning force to each strap to restrain the curtain into the verticalplane.
 13. The van body as claimed in claim 12, wherein the tensioningstraps are each accommodated in a vertical sleeve provided in thecurtain.
 14. The van body as claimed in claim 12, wherein each strap isprovided adjacent its lower end with a quick release manual tensioningdevice.
 15. The van body as claimed in claim 12, wherein the guide railcomprises a track, means to one side of the track securing the track ina desired position, and means to the other side of the track forattachment of a valance.
 16. The van body as claimed in claim 15,wherein the means for attachment of the valance comprises a channel inwhich a beaded upper edge of the valance is slidably engageable.